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Zotero: Create Bibliographies

Information on using Firefox's citation-management add-on, Zotero.

Adding EndNote styles to Zotero

Zotero comes with only a few bibliographic styles, but many more are available to download. It can also import any of the 3000+ styles available for EndNote. Request custom styles at the Zotero forums.

To import an EndNote style to Zotero:

  1. Go to the EndNote styles page and download the style you want.
  2. Open Zotero.  Click the gear button and choose Preferences.
  3. Click the Styles button.
  4. Click the + button at the bottom right.
  5. Select the style file you saved in step 1.

Creating Your Bibliography: Straight From Zotero

It's easy to create a bibliography from your Zotero library.

Select the references or collections you want to include. Hold the control key and click to select multiple items. Right-click one of the selected items and choose Create Bibliography. Choose the bibliographic style you want, and select the output format: Save as RTF or HTML, copy to clipboard or print. (The RTF file format is compatible with all word processors.)

Or you can just drag and drop references from Zotero into your document! They'll turn into fully formatted citations. This works with any word processor including Google Drive and Microsoft Word. Change the default style under Preferences on the "gear" menu.

Use Zotero with Microsoft Word

 

Zotero's plugin for Microsoft Word makes it easy to cite items from your Zotero library in Word documents. The plugin is available for both Mac OS X and Windows, and has been tested with various versions of Word. Read more about compatibility information and installation instructions.

Once you have installed the plugin, a new row of icons will appear in Microsoft Word under the Add-Ins tab.

Word plugin icons

Add Citations to a Word Document

To add a new citation to your Word document:

  1. Click the Zotero Insert Citation (Insert Citation button) button.
  2. If this is the first time you’ve added a citation to your current document, a Document Preferences dialog box will open. Choose the format you would like to use and click OK.
  3. An Add Citation window will appear. Select the item you would like to cite in your document.
    • You can select multiple citations by clicking Multiple Sources… and adding sources to a list.
    • Add page numbers as well as prefixes and suffixes in the appropriate boxes at the bottom of the window.
  4. To preview your citation, click on the Show Editor… button. The Edit Citation box will appear at the bottom of the Add Citation window.
  5. Click OK. A properly formatting citation will now be in your document.

Edit Citations in Word

To edit an already existing citation in your document:

  1. Click on the citation you would like to edit. Click the Edit Citation (Word Edit Citation button) button.
  2. The Add Citation window will appear. Edit the citation as needed then click OK.

Generate a Bibliography in Word

To generate a bibliography from all of the items you have referenced in your document, click the Zotero Insert Bibliography (Word Insert Bibliography button) button. A bibliography will be inserted at your current place in the document.

Edit a Bibliography in Word

To edit an already existing bibliography in your document,

  1. Click on the Zotero Edit Bibliography (Word Edit Bibliography button) button. A window will appear containing your Zotero Library and the references currently in your
    bibliography.
  2. To add a reference to your bibliography, click on the reference you would like to add and append it to the list in the Right Panel.
  3. To edit references in your bibliography, click on the reference on the right you would like to edit. Edit it in the Edit Citation box below.
  4. Click OK when you are done.

Update References & Preferences

If you have made any changes to your collection since inserting a citation or generating a bibliography, click the Zotero Refresh (Word Refresh button) button. This will update your references in your document to any changes you have made.

To change the bibliographic style of your document, click the Document Preferences (Word Preferences button) button. A window will appear allowing you to change citation styles and formatting.